International Viewpoint IV400 May 2008

INTERNATIONAL
VIEWPOINT
News & analysis from the Fourth International – May 2008 # 400

Right victorious: Italian Also in this Issue:
elections - a first response
Myanmar (Burma): Aid
and Hypocrisy

Food Crisis - Part 1:
Historical Failure of the
Capitalist Model

Food Crisis - part 2:
Capitalism, Agribusiness
and the Food Sovereignty
New Labour falling Alternative
apart: Respect and the
England-Wales local Burma: Wave of solidarity
elections forces regime to retreat on
cyclone aid
France: High School
students mobilise May ’68-May 2008: A
massively against attacks breach has been opened,
by Sarkozy Government now let’s widen it!
Anti-imperialism: May
1968 and the Vietnam
War

International Viewpoint IV400 May 2008

In this Issue Right victorious
Right victorious:
Italian elections - a first response……………………2
New Labour falling apart: Respect and the England- Italian elections - a first
Wales local elections………………………………….4
France: High School students mobilise massively response
against attacks by Sarkozy Government……………8 Lidia Cirillo
Myanmar (Burma): Aid and Hypocrisy………………9
Food Crisis - Part 1: Historical Failure of the
Capitalist Model………………………………………10
The principal electoral results are: in the Senate,
Food Crisis - part 2: Capitalism, Agribusiness and the
47.2% of votes for the right (People of Freedom,
Food Sovereignty Alternative……………………….13
Burma: Wave of solidarity forces regime to retreat on Northern League, Movement for Autonomy; 38.1% for
cyclone aid…………………………………………….17 the Democratic Party and the Italy of the Values led
May ’68-May 2008: A breach has been opened, now by di Pietro - IdV); in the Chamber, 46.6% for the right
let’s widen it! ..........................................................18 and 37.7% for the DP and IdV. The right has a
Poland March ’68: The rise and fall of the left majority enabling it to “rule” for five years
opposition……………………………………………..21
Anti-imperialism:
May 1968 and the Vietnam War……………………25
Another defeat for Washington in the Middle East:
Lebanon: Crisis not over…………………………….28

International Viewpoint
IV is the English-language review of news and
analysis published under the auspices of the
Executive Bureau of the Fourth International.
appears in a monthly .pdf document and online at:
www.internationalviewpoint.org Gianni Alemanno - new neo-fascist mayor of Rome

We reply on readers’ donations. -- By bank transfer A L’encontre: It is not necessary to be a specialist on
to Italy to note the marked victory of the right at these
Barclays Bank, elections, even if the exit polls initially created illusions…
876-878 Stockport Road,
Manchester M19 3BP, Lidia Cirillo: Indeed, the victory of the coalition led by
Britain; Berlusconi - Party of Freedom, Northern League and
Account number 40259691; Movement for Autonomy - is clear. It has an advantage of
Sort code 20-26-20. more than 9% of votes over the Democratic Party (DP) of
Walter Veltroni (ex-mayor of Rome) and of Italy dei Valori
From outside Britain, (led by the former judge Di Pietro). The result is
our IBAN code is: IBAN GB30 BARC 2026 2040 indubitable: 46.5% against 37.7%, according to the
2596 91. Our bank’s SWIFTBIC code is: results available and quasi-final as of Tuesday morning.
BARCGB22. –
This victory is all the more significant and alarming in that
By post to IV, PO Box 1109, London, N4 2UU, within this right wing coalition, the Northern League, this
Britain.. The Fourth International also publishes racist party, not only obtained very good results in “its”
reviews in French, Spanish and German. You can traditional areas (Veneto-Friuli), exceeding 25%
visit them online at these locations: sometimes, but was also strong in Piedmont, Lombardy,
Inprecor, French language journal areas where the so-called traditional left had a strong
http://www.inprecor.org/ base.
Punto de Vista Internacional, Spanish-language
journal In the industrial areas of North, the Northern League
http://puntodevistainternacional.org/ captured working class votes and roundly defeated the
Inprekorr, German-language monthly magazine Left Rainbow (Sinistra Arcobaleno), therefore especially
http://www.inprekorr.de/ the Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC) of Fausto

2/31


Bertinotti, who was the president of the Chamber during one of its spokespersons, Franco Giordano, insisted on
the last government of Romano Prodi. Monday evening on the TV that it is necessary “to build a
house of left”, with a “program corresponding to the
Sinistra Arcobaleno (Rainbow Left) obtained 3.2% of the
needs of the situation”. It is a wooden discourse which
votes to the Senate and 3.1% in the Chamber. At the time
you must have heard on behalf of the Socialist Party, or
of the last European elections in 2004, without having in
some of its sectors, in France.
its ranks the Democratic Left - a faction which split from
the DP - the forces present in this new formation had There are at least two elements which explain the defeat
together gained some 11% of the vote. of Sinistra Arcobaleno. The first, the PD gained the votes
of the left, those which Sinistra Arcobaleno sought. The
The present result shows the retreat of these forces -
PD did not gain among the right wing electorate, as it had
especially the PRC and the more reduced Communist
sought to do through adopting the least conflictual profile
Party of Italy (PCDI) - in working class areas, in areas
possible in this campaign. Therefore, PD took votes from
which were at the end of the 1960s, during the 1970s and
the Left rainbow.
until the 1980s, the centres of working class activity and
mobilizations. These areas have certainly experienced But the responsibility for this redistribution of the votes
social transformations, but the wage-earning class has also falls on Sinistra Arcobaleno. Indeed, when you seek
not decreased there at the sociological level and its living to convince the “people of left” - to employ this formula -
conditions have been degraded. that the only way to fight the right and the employers is
going into government, it is logical that the citizens vote
The Northern League, in these areas, has made a
for those who seem able to go there, with the most
breakthrough which made it possible for Umberto Bossi
probabilities and more “capacities to govern”.
to say that it was the “new working class party”. That
symbolizes the vertical fall of Sinistra Arcobaleno and the Secondly there was the abstention rate of 3%; that is to
forces which made it up, more specifically, I repeat it, say 1.5 million voters abstained. However, certainly,
PRC. With these results, these forces have been expelled among them, proportionally, those who had in the past
from the Chamber and the Senate. voted for components of Sinistra Arcobaleno represent a
great number.
It is then not only a victory of the right in general, but also
of this chauvinistic right faction, “northernist” and racist. It We (Sinistra Critica), were not able to reach them, which
is an important new fact. Also the fascist formation is linked not only to our novelty (we have existed only
Storace (La Destra-Fiamma Tricolour) in various cities - since December 2007, in the strict sense of the term), but
inter alia in Rome - obtained results going from 2.1% in also with the very strong scepticism which exists among
the Senate to 2.4% in the Chamber. wage-earners. Many have lost confidence, after the
political line followed over a whole period, by a political
A first conclusion: the overall political framework is
force calling itself “communist”. They do not find it easy to
serious, not to say threatening and dangerous.
again give their confidence to an emergent organization.
How should we consider the result of the Christian- Nothing abnormal in that, in the present context marked
Democratic operation led by Casini, who split from by a whole history of disillusionment.
Berlusconi?
Among an active and radicalized layer of employees or of
Lidia Cirillo: In the results for the centre right and centre young people there exists - and that is more than
left - to employ the fashionable terminology - it is understandable - the idea: “They say this or that but,
necessary to take into account the results of the UDC once in Parliament, they all do the same thing”.
(Union of Christian Democrats and Centre Democrats) of
This attitude also continues within the framework of a
Fernando Casini. It is a force which also will count.
certain milieus linked to capital which targets “the political
Probably it will not be aligned simply with Berlusconi, but
caste”, in order to create a revised institutional framework
it will support various measures relating, inter alia, to
more favourable to counter-reforms. It is necessary to
reactionary Catholic “values”.
know this, even if the two elements mentioned should not
That is also an element to bear in mind in the new be confused in any manner.
landscape drawn by the elections. In the two chambers,
Berlusconi won, but don’t obstacles remain to the
there are only right wing forces, whether the right of the
construction of politico-official institutions more
PDL, with the strength acquired by the Northern League,
suitable, to employ the language of employers, “to
or whether it is the DP, with its reference to Obama, a
take Italy out of the ditch”?
kind of Democratic Party, certainly in an Italian context.
Lidia Cirillo: Admittedly Berlusconi appears more
These elections mark a historical change: the “left”,
Confindustria-compatible than in the past. But he must
such as the PRC is out of Parliament. How should we
deal with difficulties within the dominant bloc. The vote for
understand it?
the Lega, even if the latter has a capillary presence in
Lidia Cirillo: As for Sinistra Arcobaleno, it seems clear North, is more a protest vote than a vote which would
that its days are numbered. The PCDI (Communist Party reflect - let us say, to be brief – a working class
Italy) of Diliberto has already packed its bags; the Greens organization.
will follow. The PRC is in the most total confusion. Thus,

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The degree of disorganization of the “workers’ theoretical reflexion which takes into account the features
movement”, of the working class at the trade-union and of the present historical period and, also, the political
political levels is very large. Consequently, Berlusconi, in dynamics of the last decade, in an open way. It is to this
five years – because he has a clear majority in the two that I devote myself – as a member of the leading circle
chambers (Senate and Parliament) - can inflict new blows of Sinistra Critica - in various contributions on the topics
leading to a disaster. The CGIL has members who vote of feminism, of “Leninism today”, or the crisis of politics.
Lega, in some numbers in the North. It is thus not a
* Interview by Charles-Andre Udry for the site of “A
workers’ resistance to support from the Lega for counter-
l’encontre”.
reforms which poses the principal problem to Berlusconi.
Lidia Cirillo has been a member of the Italian
On the other hand, contradictions within the dominant
section of the Fourth International since 1966.
bloc remain. The declarations of the new leader of
Feminist activist and leading figures in the World
Confindustria, Emma Marcegaglia, as of Monday
March of Women in Italy, she also founded the
evening, express the urgent feeling among dominant
Quaderni Viola (Purple notebooks, a feminist review).
fractions of Capital on the need to implement ”deep
She is the author of several feminist works : Meglio
reforms”. At the same time, there exists the feeling
Orfane (Better to be Orphans), Lettera alle Romane
among certain leaders of the right that social
(Letter to Roman Women), and recently La Lune
mobilizations can re-appear. They also look at France.
Severa Maestra (The Moon, a Strict Mistress) on the
Therefore, the strategy will be concocted with more
relationship between feminism and social
precision, in the weeks to come.
movements.
Moreover, we note: the severe economic crisis; possible
Other recent articles:
popular reactions; the taking into account of clientelist
interests, as much for the Lega as Berlusconi; all that Italy
makes me think that the situation for a political line Italy must free Tamil human rights campaigners - July 2008
conforming to the interests of the dominant fractions of Victory of the right, suicide of the left - July 2008
Eleven points to face the crisis of the Italian Left - June 2008
Capital, in terms of timing, is still to be tested.
An anti-capitalist left, incompatible with war and neoliberalism -
May 2008
You are a member of Sinistra Critica, how do you The Critical Left, the lists with the hammer and sickle - April 2008
judge the results for this organization in formation,
for “any young person”, since you were in the PRC
still in 2007 and broke clearly with the “party of
Bertinotti”?
New Labour falling apart
Lidia Cirillo: As Sinistra Critica, we obtained the
following results: 0.416% in the Senate, with 136, 396
votes; and 0.459% in the Chamber with 167, 673 votes. Respect and the England-
Flavia D’ Angeli got a good reception: by her youth, her
direct speech; above all among young sectors,
Wales local elections
employees and students; that does not mean that these Alan Thornett, Nick Wrack
people voted for Sinistra Critica, because some wanted to
vote “usefully” or to abstain. Franco Turigliatto [ex-
senator, who voted against the proposals of Prodi] The New Labour project is falling apart at the seams.
developed an very political and educational argument and Its local elections results were the worst in 40 years,
was recognized by a layer of workers with whom he had with only 24% of the vote and coming third behind
worked for a long time. The results indicate it. What the Liberal Democrats. This is a disastrous result for
shows through in the first results: we get more votes Brown. In London, the election of Boris Johnson as
where we are present and carry out work. It is a vote Mayor and the presence of a BNP member on the
which reflects a political and trade-union activity, carried Greater London Assembly will disturb and depress
out by militants for a long time, sometimes. all who value the multi-cultural diversity of the city.
The Communist Party of Workers (PCL) led by Marco
Ferrando [Trotskyist current] obtained 0.55% of the votes
in the Senate, that is to say 180,454 votes; and 0.571% in
the Chamber, or 208, 394 votes. Its results are more
“homogeneous” on the ground, because the PCL and
Marco Ferrando were more known, at least in certain
areas. For the remainder, it is still too early to carry out an
assessment.
What is obvious can be expressed in a formula: long term
work in the various social mobilizations is a precondition
to reaffirming an anti-capitalist and Communist
perspective, while working out a programmatic and

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Respect campaigns in East London
withhold their votes unless and until they see a serious,
The most immediate catalyst for the collapse of the viable, alternative. When the threat arises of a Tory win
Labour vote was the abolition of the 10% income tax rate most of these will vote once again for New Labour with
(ie Labour attacking a large part of its core base), but heavy heart and holding their noses whilst doing so. This
looming large behind that is the economic crisis the credit was a significant feature of the Livingstone vote in the
crunch, rising fuel and food prices set against continuing London Mayoral election. Such an attitude will be played
low wages for a big section of society. Added to this was upon by the right-wing trade union leaders to argue
Brown’s inability to spin the New Labour project in the against “rocking the boat”, arguing that New Labour has
way Blair could do it. to be supported to keep out the Tories.

All of this raises the prospect of a further electoral In these circumstances, there are possibilities for building
disaster in the European elections in 2009 followed by a a left-wing alternative to New Labour but it will not be
drubbing in the general election of 2010 and the possible easy or swift. We may not like where we are starting from
election of a Tory Government. but every journey has to start from where you are.

Against this background what are the prospects and The first point to register about the performance of the left
possibilities for building a left-wing alternative to New parties in the recent elections is that they confirm that
Labour’s neo-liberal policies. What is the terrain and what there is the basis of support for such a project. Although
can be achieved? the experience was very limited, with only a few handfuls
of good results outside of London, the results
Firstly, nothing in the general political situation has demonstrate that where consistent and patient work has
fundamentally changed since the launching of Respect in been invested, support can be obtained for left-wing
2004. Large numbers of traditional Labour voters remain candidates.
alienated, disillusioned and demoralised by the right-wing
policies of New Labour. Some seek solutions in a Respect’s results confirm this. In Birmingham
“change” and vote for the Tories. Many more abstain, Sparkbrook, Respect’s Nahim Ullah Khan won 3,032
casting a plague on both parties. Such is the nature of (42.64%) and became Respect’sthird councillor in the
party politics in Britain today, and the media coverage, ward. Elsewhere in Birmingham, Respect polled 25% in
that the rivalry between the main parties has become one Springfield, 17% in Nechells and just under 5% in
of presentation and personalities. Moseley and Kings Heath.

Ideological differences have been left far behind as all the These are extremely significant results. They indicate the
establishment parties support neo-liberalism to the hilt. possibilities of obtaining very good votes in elections and
Differences are miniscule, reflected by petty point demonstrate that it is possible to win. They augur well for
scoring. In these circumstances voters can cast a vote for Respect’sprospects in the city at the general election.
the opposition in order to register their dissatisfaction In Manchester”s Cheetham Hill ward Kay Phillips polled
without, in fact, registering a vote for any fundamentally 14.4% following an energetic campaign that built serious
different policies. links with the local communities. In Moss Side Respect
At the same time, there is widespread anger at rising polled 5.8% and in Wigan 6.7%. In Bradford Manningham
prices and the budget attacks on the poorest. There is ward Respect won 7.5% and in Walsall 7.6%. Of course,
opposition to privatisation and a fear about the future of these are very few wards contested but are small
the health service and education. The war and indications of what can be obtained in the first instance if
occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, although receding as there were forces to contest more widely.
an issue, remains of concern for millions. A few of the results for the Left List also demonstrated the
Of course, not everything flows in the same direction. same potential for the left. They received a very good
Fears about crime and the issue of immigration are 37% and 25% in Preston and Sheffield respectively to
factors used by the press and politicians to drum up 12% and 10% in Manchester. It is worth mentioning that
support for right-wing views. the result in Preston and Sheffield are the products of
work over a long period of time with a commitment from
the core activists to the building of a broad electoral left
alternative; a completely different approach from that of
the SWP leadership.
In London the most impressive result was the vote for
Hanif Abdulmuhit in the City and East constituency. Here,
Respect came third, polling 26,760 votes (14.59%), an
increase of 7,085(36%) against the background of a
polarisation of the vote between Labour and
Conservatives. This was a tremendous vote, beating the
In general, however, disillusioned working-class voters
BNP and consolidating Respect’sposition in its east
and the progressively minded sections of the middle class London stronghold.
will not swing to the Tories. Some may be tempted by the
social liberalism of the Liberal Democrats but most will

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Across London Respect’s vote did not fare so well. more than ever. The neo-liberal policies of New Labour
Respect did not stand any candidate for Mayor or in any will lead some to try out the Tories and will even drive
other constituency apart from City and East. Respect some working-class whites into the arms of the racist and
polled 59,721 (2.43%) in the London-wide list, a fascist BNP. A party espousing policies that benefit
disappointment to the many Respect supporters who had working-class people, rather than big business is the only
hoped to win at least one seat on the Greater London way to cauterise that flow.
Assembly by obtaining the minimum 5% required.
An election is only a snapshot of political developments
Notwithstanding the high profile of George Galloway this and these results should not be seen as a generalised
was always going to be difficult in the circumstances. move to the right. Given the absence of any authoritative
However there is no doubt that the response to left-wing party it is not surprising that many voters plump
Respect’scampaign, albeit limited by a lack of resources for the “other” party in the hope that things may improve
and any real presence in large swathes of the capital, marginally.
confirmed the potential to build outwards from the
But the vast majority of traditional Labour voters still vote
success in east London.
Labour or abstain. There is a sizable proportion of
This was not a bad result in the circumstances. There working-class voters, especially newer immigrants in low
was a massive polarisation in London around the Mayoral paid jobs, who no longer have any allegiance to Labour.
election which no doubt squeezed smaller parties.
Notwithstanding the election of Johnson and the election
Perhaps more importantly, the war no longer featured to
of one BNP member to the GLA, the London elections
anything like the same degree as in 2004. Although
show that the situation is much more complicated -than
Respect has a broad array of policies covering the
simply being a reflection of a shift to the right.
breadth of the issues facing the electorate it is probable
that most people still see Respect as the anti-war party. Livingstone’s 1st preference vote increased by 208,336.
This needs to be addressed. What exactly is Respect and His combined 1st and 2nd preference vote increased by
what does it stand for? There is no doubt that the split in 340,358. While there was massive discontent with New
Respect damaged the party”s prospect, both in terms of Labour’s policies and with Livingstone’s own
voters seeing Respect as damaged goods and performance, the fear of Johnson winning drove
weakening the party”s ability to campaign across London. Livingstone’s supporters out in massively increased
numbers.
We did not have a Mayoral candidate, which meant that
we did not get an entry into the booklet which went to Unfortunately, this increased turnout for Livingstone could
every household in London. Nor did we have an election not match the increased Tory turnout, which added over
broadcast. half a million votes to their 2004 result. Following the
election of Cameron as leader the Tories have cynically
Unfortunately, with the exception of Newham and Tower
repositioned themselves towards the centre ground of
Hamlets, Southwark, and some pockets in North London
politics to increase their appeal particularly to a new
and elsewhere, Respect does not exist as an active force
generation which did not know Thatcherism.
with an organisation on the ground. This is a
consequence of four years of neglect, compounded by Alongside this the selection of Johnson as Mayoral
the split last year. The lesson of last years Southall by- candidate has seen a confidence returning to the Tory
election demonstrated again in these elections, is that supporters, especially in the suburbs. Livingstone
Respect cannot expect to get significant support unless it appeared jaded, grey and on the back foot in the
carries out regular, consistent work in an area. campaign and the Tories scented a huge scalp. They
turned out in force to take it.
Respect was not able to overcome these difficulties. It
shows that Respect has to be built across the capital, This produced a fairly narrow Tory victory for Mayor. This
with branches in every borough, if we want to become a shows that, notwithstanding the increasingly personal
real force in London. The vote in City and East, however, nature of political contest in Britain, there was still a clear
demonstrates that we can build in other areas by left-right contest taking place. Voters for the most part
developing an active base carrying out regular and understood this. No matter the serious concerns that
consistent work within the local community. Of course, many on the left would have with Livingstone, it was
our priority areas are Tower Hamlets and Newham in the clearly understood that Johnson had to be beaten.
east where we have to continue to build and consolidate,
Whilst the vote for Livingstone went up in the inner city
but no national party can be built on the basis of support
areas it could not compensate for the doubling of the Tory
limited to two or three areas.
vote in some of the suburban constituencies. The
The London results Mayoral election was overwhelmingly a class vote. There
was a clear ideological aspect to the vote, fuelled by the
Neither the victory for the Conservatives, nor the election
massive attacks on Livingstone led by the Tory-
of a BNP member to the London Assembly, contradict the
supporting Evening Standard. It was understood that the
argument that there is a need and a realistic possibility of
multicultural nature of London and its public services
building a left-wing alternative to New Labour. In fact, the
were seriously at risk. Johnson’s victory will demonstrate
election results demonstrate the need for such a party
very quickly how justified that fear was. It was a huge

6/31


victory for the Tories and a defeat not only for New along with some of the other results outside of London
Labour but also for all those to its left - particularly when and the 3.6% won by the various left parties on the
taking into account that the BNP are now on the London list, there is clearly the basis for a much bigger
Assembly. party of the left than has been built up until now. Respect
therefore has a two-fold task in the post election situation:
Part of a wider trend
to consolidate the important and central bases in
New Labour’s defeat came directly out of the New Labour Birmingham and East London and start to extend
project itself. It is part of a wider and more fundamental outwards into other areas with the objective of
picture involving the direction of social democracy at the establishing a national spread for the organisation.
European level. Over the last two decades European
This requires a rapid turn back from election work to
social democracy, without exception, has abandoned its
party-building work through patient but energetic and
traditional roots and adopted the full neo-liberal agenda.
lively local activity together with strengthening our
Now, one after another, these parties are suffering the
national profile. We need to recruit and consolidate new
backlash from this and falling into disarray. Italy is the
members and build branches where they don”t yet exist.
most recent example where social democracy, after a
The structures of Respect must be strengthened. The
disastrous period of coalition with a centre right Prodi
paper should be utilised to win more supporters and
administration, has collapsed and now we have a
sympathisers. We should begin to prepare for a
Berlusconi government and a fascist mayor of Rome.
conference in the early autumn which can consolidate the
France is another example of a centre left government
organisation and reach out to others.
opening the door to the right, bringing Sarkozy to power.
In Germany at an earlier stage it resulted in the election We must renew our approach to all those people in the
of Angela Merkel. communities with whom we have been working during the
election but also find new areas to work in. We must
Right across Europe social democratic parties have
reiterate our commitment to reach out to and work with all
moved to the centre ground and the ideological difference
others on the left who want to build a left alternative - the
between them and the centre-right parties has
young people of the environmental movement, those
disappeared. Politics are reduced to sound-bites and
opposing racism and islamaphobia, and local community
spin. In Britain, New Labour comprehensively rejected its
activists.
traditional electoral base and, initially, successfully
reached out to middle England - to win three elections This also means approaching trade unionists and other
with such support. But such support can disappear as sections of the left to argue for a regroupment broader
fast as it comes. Unless governments rest on than Respect, which can reflect the full potential available
ideologically- based core support they are continually to the left and which can more adequately address the
vulnerable to the latest twists and turns of the political crisis of working-class representation. We should
situation or stunts pulled by their opponents. participate in initiatives like the “Convention of the left”.
Forging links with serious organisations on the left will not
Does this mean the end of new Labour? No. It might
come easily or quickly, but we must show ourselves
mean the end of this particular phase of New Labour in
committed to the project of working with others to build a
the sense that they are heading from office at a rate of
bigger, united left-wing party. In the meantime, we work
knots. But any idea that they might draw the conclusion
to build our support in an open and inclusive way.
that the neo-liberal path has been wrong and that they
should now turn back towards some kind of old Labour Alan Thornett is a leading member of the International
model is unlikely to materialise. Socialist Group, British Section of the Fourth
International, and sits on the National Council of Respect.
This will become clear enough when the new policy
review is published in the next week or two. They are Nick Wrack is the founding chairperson and currently a
more likely to conclude that they have not gone far national council member of Respect. He was recently
enough and the way to get their voters back from the expelled from the British Socialist Workers Party during
Tory Party is to embrace the market even more. the Respect split.

The response of the left to all this right across Europe Other recent articles:
should be clear enough. The need to build broad parties
Britain
of the left, based on broad socialist policies, designed to
embrace all those looking for a political alternative could The best memorial to Greg is to continue the fight for socialism - April
2008
not be more sharply posed. This is not an easy project. It Greg Tucker: towards a tribute - April 2008
requires determination, élan, openness, patience and Democratic Centralism and Broad Left Parties - January 2008
The view from France - Respect splits - January 2008
consistency. But it has to be done. The SWP’s ever-increasing welter of allegations and distortions -
January 2008
The way forwards after the election
Broad Parties
The basis for a broad pluralist party oof the Left clearly
exists, despite the current divisions on the left and New anti-capitalist party gets underway! - July 2008
A new political factor emerges - July 2008
despite a reduced vote in the London elections. If we take Eleven points to face the crisis of the Italian Left - June 2008
the very good results in Birmingham and East London, A conference full of hope - June 2008

7/31


France: Coming together to build something new - March 2008 In contrast to the other movements, this time it is the high
school students in the most working-class areas that
have taken the initiative and have formed the majority of
France the demonstrators. In this way, massive demonstrations
and the capacity of organization of the French students’
movement have begun to converge with the combativity
and radicalization of the youth from the Paris suburbs.
High School students
From these beginnings, the movement has spread like
mobilise massively wildfire. First in Paris, where hundreds of high schools

against attacks by Sarkozy have gone on strike spontaneously, overwhelming all
political organizations and trade unions. But not only in
Government high schools: the movement has reached dozens of
middle schools (11 to 15 years), which have also blocked
Alex and Yoann lessons and have massively mobilised for
demonstrations. These demonstrations have brought
together up to 50,000 people in Paris twice a week.
French youth continue to show their potential for
But the movement is not only in Paris. In Toulouse, Lyon
mobilising against education reforms. This time it is
and Grenoble, the mobilization has also achieved a
the turn of high school students, who, during the last
historically unprecedented scope. On 18 April students in
weeks, have been on the streets against the
Paris started their holidays which are two weeks long. It is
suppression of teachers’ jobs in high schools.
therefore the turn of high schools in the provinces, which
are coming back from holidays now. And they have got
started quickly. On 22 April, 15,000 students
demonstrated in Tours, 2,500 in Toulon, 500 in Lille and
3,000 in Strasbourg. These actions will give a push to the
movement in Paris when the holidays finish there.
To achieve this level of activity, it is also essential that the
movement organises itself and adopts democratic
structures. Coordination is beginning between the high
schools that are in struggle, with the first national meeting
taking place in April and the next one on 3 May.
6 May is the key date: the teachers’ unions are thinking of
calling a General Strike on education, and FO (Force
Everything started with the Sarkozy government’s Ouvriere – Workers’ Force) is even thinking of the
announcement of the elimination of 11,200 high school possibility of calling an inter-sectoral strike.
teacher jobs during the next year. In doing so, they have
Update: Teachers’ Unions FERC-CGT, SGEN-CFDT,
gone one step further in their policy of frontal attacks on
UNSA-EDUCATION, SUD EDUCATION have called a
education rights and of reducing public expenditure.
strike on 15 May. May promises to be a month of action.
Consequences will include the elimination of optional
*An expanded form of this article first appeared in Revista
subjects (arts, Latin, foreign languages) and increases in
Corriente Alterna. The translation of this extract is by
student-teacher ratios and in teachers’ working hours.
Socialist Resistance.
The first to mobilise were the teachers. On 18 March,
The authors are members of the JCR in Paris-Nanterre.
responding to the call of the SNES, FO, Sud and CGT
unions, thousands of teachers went on strike and Other recent articles:
demonstrated in Paris. There were around 2,000 on the
France
demo, accompanied by 3,000 high school students who
gave the first sign that a mass youth movement was Where is the radical left going? - November 2008
Toward the Foundation of a New Anticapitalist Party - November 2008
rising again. The New Anti-capitalist Party shakes up the left - November 2008
New anti-capitalist party gets underway! - July 2008
Since then, the dynamic of the teachers’ struggle has A new political factor emerges - July 2008
been overtaken by that of the students, who have started
French student struggles
organising themselves and taking the initiative. Methods
of action reflect the experience acquired by French youth Chirac and the government eat their words! - April 2006
The white flag goes up - April 2006
during the recent strikes: blocks and strike pickets, quot;The question of a link between workers and students is immediatequot; -
speeches during the lessons in order to interrupt them March 2006
and to be able to mobilise for massive demonstrations in Massive turnout against labour law - March 2006
Student movement puts government on the defensive - March 2006
Paris.

8/31


Myanmar (Burma) the secondary effects of the cyclone, like malaria,
dysentery and water-born diseases.
One of the few public policies that does help the country’s
Aid and Hypocrisy poor - the provision of government-subsidised petrol and
oil, would be abolished if Aung San Suu Kyi’s pro-western
Mark Johnson National League for Democracy took power.

Western interests have also exploited the cyclone to
Response to the tropical cyclone Nargis, which hit advance their own agenda - opening Myanmar to western
Myanmar on 3 May 2008 has been hijacked by vested investment on the same unequal terms as in Cambodia,
interests on all sides, leaving millions of Asia’s and imposing a more malleable government that would
poorest people without any effective aid. revoke recent agreements giving China access to
Myanmar’s ports. French foreign minister Bernard
Kouchner suggested on 6 May that western powers
should invoke their global ’right and duty to protect’ and
deploy military-civil aid missions without the consent of
the Myanmar government. US officials - coordinating the
hundreds of aid workers and journalists now massed in
Bangkok waiting for the green light, have started
circulating widely exaggerated estimates of the number of
victims, in order to marshal the humanitarian charities
and journalists behind the US’s aggressive plans for
regime change.
Not that many of the private aid agencies and charities
The greatest responsibility rests with Myanmar’s military need much persuading. Closely linked to missionary
government, which failed to warn the population of the groups that have been working in the Burmese border
cyclone, and has still not mounted an effective disaster region since British colonial times, and expecting to
response programme. The country’s huge army and receive tens of millions of dollars of easy money when the
police forces were completely absent from the streets of Myanmar junta caves in, most of the aid industry is
Yangoon (formerly Rangoon) until two days after the unable to distance itself from great power interests in the
cyclone hit - leaving most of the city’s four million region.
inhabitants wandering desperately through knee high A smaller number of international solidarity campaigns
water, trying to contact family members and find are going against this depressing general pattern.
something to eat or drink, suddenly deprived of electricity, Buddhist groups across Asia have found ways to channel
telephone or drinking water. support through Myanmar’s monasteries and temples -
Only the City of Yangoon was able to offer some services where many of the cyclone victims have taken shelter.
to the urban poor -with a fairly efficient free distribution of Others have linked to émigré and underground student
drinking water. The semi-governmental Myanmar Red and pro-democracy groups, not all of whom have been
Cross also provided some assistance and advice. But fooled by the US charm offensive and dollar largesse
overall, the disaster response has demonstrated once towards the émigré circles.
again that Myanmar’s junta is arrogant, out of touch and The coming weeks will not just witness a struggle to aid
parasitical, and completely unable to meet the basic the hundreds of thousands of people made homeless by
needs and rights of the population. International media cyclone Nargis, and the millions now slowly starving
and humanitarian charities have rightly condemned this thanks to the combination of regime incompetence, US-
failure to protect. led sanctions and local profiteering. We are also
But the behaviour of Myanmar’s business and middle witnessing a struggle to redefine the contours of
classes - the main supporters of the pro-western Myanmar politics, possibly including the collapse of the
opposition around their symbolic leader Aung San Suu country’s foul military rulers.
Kyi, has shown that they are completely unfit to take *Marc Johnson was in Yangoon when cyclone Nargis hit.
charge of the country, despite their undeniable popular He is currently engaged in aid coordination efforts in
support. Commercial enterprises large and small jacked neighbouring Thailand.
up the prices of all essential commodities by 200 to 400%
immediately following the cyclone. Mark Johnson is IV’s correspondent in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia.
With most of Myanmar’s 50m inhabitants - small farmers -
living on less than 1 EUR per day, this callous profiteering Other recent articles:
will have a terrible effect on nutrition, particularly for the Burma
very old and the very young - already most at risk from
Wave of solidarity forces regime to retreat on cyclone aid - May 2008

9/31


The Burmese crisis, its roots and the urgency of solidarity - October We are in the midst of an unprecedented worldwide food
2007
Enough hypocrisy, action! - October 2007 price inflation that has driven prices to their highest levels
in decades. The increases affect most kinds of food, but
Floods in particular the most important staples — wheat, corn,
Needed: A climate revolution - September 2008 and rice.
Wave of solidarity forces regime to retreat on cyclone aid - May 2008
Historical Failure of the Capitalist Model - May 2008 The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says that
2007 - Year of Climate Change Catastrophe - November 2007
between March 2007 and March 2008 prices of cereals
increased 88%, oils and fats 106%, and dairy 48%. The
FAO food price index as a whole rose 57% in one year —
Food Crisis - Part 1 and most of the increase occurred in the past few
months.

Another source, the World Bank, says that that in the 36
Historical Failure of the months ending February 2008, global wheat prices rose
181% and overall global food prices increased by 83%.
Capitalist Model The Bank expects most food prices to remain well above
Ian Angus 2004 levels until at least 2015.
The most popular grade of Thailand rice sold for $198 a
tonne five years ago and $323 a tonne a year ago. On
If the government cannot lower the cost of living it April 24, the price hit $1,000.
simply has to leave. If the police and UN troops want
to shoot at us, that’s OK, because in the end, if we Increases are even greater on local markets — in Haiti,
are not killed by bullets, we’ll die of hunger.” — A the market price of a 50 kilo bag of rice doubled in one
demonstrator in Port-au-Prince, Haiti week at the end of March.

These increases are catastrophic for the 2.6 billion
people around the world who live on less than US$2 a
day and spend 60% to 80% of their incomes on food.
Hundreds of millions cannot afford to eat.
This month, the hungry fought back.

Taking to the streets
In Haiti, on April 3, demonstrators in the southern city of
Les Cayes built barricades, stopped trucks carrying rice
and distributed the food, and tried to burn a United
Nations compound. The protests quickly spread to the
capital, Port-au-Prince, where thousands marched on the
Mexico food price protest
presidential palace, chanting “We are hungry!” Many
In Haiti, where most people get 22% fewer calories than called for the withdrawal of UN troops and the return of
the minimum needed for good health, some are staving Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the exiled president whose
off their hunger pangs by eating “mud biscuits” made by government was overthrown by foreign powers in 2004.
mixing clay and water with a bit of vegetable oil and President René Préval, who initially said nothing could be
salt. [1] done, has announced a 16% cut in the wholesale price of
Meanwhile, in Canada, the federal government is rice. This is at best a stop-gap measure, since the
currently paying $225 for each pig killed in a mass cull of reduction is for one month only, and retailers are not
breeding swine, as part of a plan to reduce hog obligated to cut their prices.
production. Hog farmers, squeezed by low hog prices and The actions in Haiti paralleled similar protests by hungry
high feed costs, have responded so enthusiastically that people in more than twenty other countries.
the kill will likely use up all the allocated funds before the
program ends in September. In Burkino Faso, a two-day general strike by unions and
shopkeepers demanded “significant and effective”
Some of the slaughtered hogs may be given to local Food reductions in the price of rice and other staple foods.
Banks, but most will be destroyed or made into pet food.
None will go to Haiti. In Bangladesh, over 20,000 workers from textile factories
in Fatullah went on strike to demand lower prices and
This is the brutal world of capitalist agriculture — a world higher wages. They hurled bricks and stones at police,
where some people destroy food because prices are too who fired tear gas into the crowd.
low, and others literally eat dirt because food prices are
too high. The Egyptian government sent thousands of troops into
the Mahalla textile complex in the Nile Delta, to prevent a
Record prices for staple foods general strike demanding higher wages, an independent

10/31


union, and lower prices. Two people were killed and over between 1980 and 2004. [3] Subsidies and R&D money
600 have been jailed. have dried up, and production growth has stalled.
In Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, police used tear gas against As a result, in seven of the past eight years the world
women who had set up barricades, burned tires and consumed more grain than it produced, which means that
closed major roads. Thousands marched to the rice was being removed from the inventories that
President’s home, chanting “We are hungry,” and “Life is governments and dealers normally hold as insurance
too expensive, you are killing us.” against bad harvests. World grain stocks are now at their
lowest point ever, leaving very little cushion for bad times.
In Pakistan and Thailand, armed soldiers have been
deployed to prevent the poor from seizing food from fields Climate Change: Scientists say that climate change could
and warehouses. cut food production in parts of the world by 50% in the
next 12 years. But that isn’t just a matter for the future:
Similar protests have taken place in Cambodia,
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Madagascar, Australia is normally the world’s second-largest exporter
Mauritania, Niger, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Thailand, of grain, but a savage multi-year drought has reduced the
Uzbekistan, and Zambia. On April 2, the president of the wheat crop by 60% and rice production has been
World Bank told a meeting in Washington that there are completely wiped out.
33 countries where price hikes could cause social unrest.
In Bangladesh in November, one of the strongest
A Senior Editor of Time magazine warned: cyclones in decades wiped out a million tonnes of rice
and severely damaged the wheat crop, making the huge
“The idea of the starving masses driven by their
country even more dependent on imported food.
desperation to take to the streets and overthrow the
ancien regime has seemed impossibly quaint since Other examples abound. It’s clear that the global climate
capitalism triumphed so decisively in the Cold War…. crisis is already here, and it is affecting food.
And yet, the headlines of the past month suggest that
Agrofuels: It is now official policy in the U.S., Canada and
skyrocketing food prices are threatening the stability of a
Europe to convert food into fuel. U.S. vehicles burn
growing number of governments around the world. ….
enough corn to cover the entire import needs of the
when circumstances render it impossible to feed their
poorest 82 countries. [4]
hungry children, normally passive citizens can very
quickly become militants with nothing to lose.” [2] Ethanol and biodiesel are very heavily subsidized, which
means, inevitably, that crops like corn (maize) are being
What’s Driving Food Inflation?
diverted out of the food chain and into gas tanks, and that
Since the 1970s, food production has become new agricultural investment worldwide is being directed
increasingly globalized and concentrated. A handful of towards palm, soy, canola and other oil-producing plants.
countries dominate the global trade in staple foods. 80% This increases the prices of agrofuel crops directly, and
of wheat exports come from six exporters, as does 85% indirectly boosts the price of other grains by encouraging
of rice. Three countries produce 70% of exported corn. growers to switch to agrofuel.
This leaves the world’s poorest countries, the ones that
As Canadian hog producers have found, it also drives up
must import food to survive, at the mercy of economic
the cost of producing meat, since corn is the main
trends and policies in those few exporting companies.
ingredient in North American animal feed.
When the global food trade system stops delivering, it’s
the poor who pay the price. Oil Prices: The price of food is linked to the price of oil
because food can be made into a substitute for oil. But
For several years, the global trade in staple foods has
rising oil prices also affect the cost of producing food.
been heading towards a crisis. Four related trends have
Fertilizer and pesticides are made from petroleum and
slowed production growth and pushed prices up.
natural gas. Gas and diesel fuel are used in planting,
The End of the Green Revolution: In the 1960s and harvesting and shipping. [5]
1970s, in an effort to counter peasant discontent in south
It’s been estimated that 80% of the costs of growing corn
and southeast Asia, the U.S. poured money and technical
are fossil fuel costs — so it is no accident that food prices
support into agricultural development in India and other
rise when oil prices rise.
countries. The “green revolution” — new seeds,
fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural techniques and ***
infrastructure — led to spectacular increases in food
By the end of 2007, reduced investment in the third world,
production, particularly rice. Yield per hectare continued
rising oil prices, and climate change meant that
expanding until the 1990s.
production growth was slowing and prices were rising.
Today, it’s not fashionable for governments to help poor Good harvests and strong export growth might have
people grow food for other poor people, because “the staved off a crisis — but that isn’t what happened. The
market” is supposed to take care of all problems. The trigger was rice, the staple food of three billion people.
Economist reports that “spending on farming as a share
Early this year, India announced that it was suspending
of total public spending in developing countries fell by half
most rice exports in order to rebuild its reserves. A few

11/31


weeks later, Vietnam, whose rice crop was hit by a major There have been many variations on this theme, with rich
insect infestation during the harvest, announced a four- countries of the north imposing “liberalization” policies on
month suspension of exports to ensure that enough poor and debt-ridden southern countries and then taking
would be available for its domestic market. advantage of that liberalization to capture the market.
Government subsidies account for 30% of farm revenue
India and Vietnam together normally account for 30% of
in the world’s 30 richest countries, a total of US$280
all rice exports, so their announcements were enough to
billion a year, [8]an unbeatable advantage in a “free”
push the already tight global rice market over the edge.
market where the rich write the rules.
Rice buyers immediately started buying up available
stocks, hoarding whatever rice they could get in the The global food trade game is rigged, and the poor have
expectation of future price increases, and bidding up the been left with reduced crops and no protections.
price for future crops. Prices soared. By mid-April, news
In addition, for several decades the World Bank and
reports described “panic buying” of rice futures on the
International Monetary Fund have refused to advance
Chicago Board of Trade, and there were rice shortages
loans to poor countries unless they agree to “Structural
even on supermarket shelves in Canada and the U.S.
Adjustment Programs” (SAP) that require the loan
Why the rebellion? recipients to devalue their currencies, cut taxes, privatize
utilities, and reduce or eliminate support programs for
There have been food price spikes before. Indeed, if we
farmers.
take inflation into account, global prices for staple foods
were higher in the 1970s than they are today. So why has All this was done with the promise that the market would
this inflationary explosion provoked mass protests around produce economic growth and prosperity — instead,
the world? poverty increased and support for agriculture was
eliminated.
The answer is that since the 1970s the richest countries
in the world, aided by the international agencies they “The investment in improved agricultural input packages
control, have systematically undermined the poorest and extension support tapered and eventually
countries’ ability to feed their populations and protect disappeared in most rural areas of Africa under SAP.
themselves in a crisis like this. Concern for boosting smallholders’ productivity was
abandoned. Not only were governments rolled back,
Haiti is a powerful and appalling example.
foreign aid to agriculture dwindled. World Bank funding
Rice has been grown in Haiti for centuries, and until for agriculture itself declined markedly from 32% of total
twenty years ago Haitian farmers produced about lending in 1976-8 to 11.7% in 1997-9.” [9]
170,000 tonnes of rice a year, enough to cover 95% of
During previous waves of food price inflation, the poor
domestic consumption. Rice farmers received no
often had at least some access to food they grew
government subsidies, but, as in every other rice-
themselves, or to food that was grown locally and
producing country at the time, their access to local
available at locally set prices. Today, in many countries in
markets was protected by import tariffs.
Africa, Asia and Latin America, that’s just not possible.
In 1995, as a condition of providing a desperately needed Global markets now determine local prices — and often
loan, the International Monetary Fund required Haiti to cut the only food available must be imported from far away.
its tariff on imported rice from 35% to 3%, the lowest in
***
the Caribbean. The result was a massive influx of U.S.
rice that sold for half the price of Haitian-grown rice. Food is not just another commodity — it is absolutely
Thousands of rice farmers lost their lands and livelihoods, essential for human survival. The very least that humanity
and today three-quarters of the rice eaten in Haiti comes should expect from any government or social system is
from the U.S. [6] that it try to prevent starvation — and above all that it not
promote policies that deny food to hungry people.
U.S. rice didn’t take over the Haitian market because it
tastes better, or because U.S. rice growers are more That’s why Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was
efficient. It won out because rice exports are heavily absolutely correct on April 24, to describe the food crisis
subsidized by the U.S. government. In 2003, U.S. rice as “the greatest demonstration of the historical failure of
growers received $1.7 billion in government subsidies, an the capitalist model.”
average of $232 per hectare of rice grown. [7] That
What needs to be done to end this crisis, and to ensure
money, most of which went to a handful of very large
that doesn’t happen again? Part Two of this article will
landowners and agribusiness corporations, allowed U.S.
examine those questions.
exporters to sell rice at 30% to 50% below their real
production costs. Ian Angus edits the Climate and Capitalism website and
is a supporter of Socialist Voice in Canada.
In short, Haiti was forced to abandon government
protection of domestic agriculture — and the U.S. then NOTES
used its government protection schemes to take over the
[1] Kevin Pina. “Mud Cookie Economics in Haiti.” Haiti Action
market.
Network, Feb. 10, 2008.
http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HIP/2_10_8/2_10_8.html

12/31


[2] Tony Karon. “How Hunger Could Topple Regimes.” Time, April
11, 2008.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1730107,00.html

[3] “The New Face of Hunger.” The Economist, April 19, 2008.

[4] Mark Lynas. “How the Rich Starved the World.” New Statesman,
April 17, 2008. http://www.newstatesman.com/200804170025

[5] Dale Allen Pfeiffer. Eating Fossil Fuels. New Society Publishers,
Gabriola Island BC, 2006. p. 1

[6] Oxfam International Briefing Paper, April 2005. “Kicking Down the
Door.” http://www.oxfam.org/en/files/bp72_rice.pdf

[7] Ibid.

[8] OECD Background Note: Agricultural Policy and Trade Reform.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/52/23/36896656.pdf Venezuela’s action is in the finest tradition of human
solidarity. When people are hungry, we should do our
[9] Kjell Havnevik, Deborah Bryceson, Lars-Erik Birgegård, Prosper best to feed them. Venezuela’s example should be
Matondi & Atakilte Beyene. “African Agriculture and the World Bank: applauded and emulated.
Development or Impoverishment?” Links International Journal of
Socialist Renewal, http://www.links.org.au/node/328 But aid, however necessary, is only a stopgap. To truly
address the problem of world hunger, we must
Other recent articles: understand and then change the system that causes it.
Floods No shortage of food
Needed: A climate revolution - September 2008
Wave of solidarity forces regime to retreat on cyclone aid - May 2008 The starting point for our analysis must be this: there is
Aid and Hypocrisy - May 2008 no shortage of food in the world today.
2007 - Year of Climate Change Catastrophe - November 2007
Contrary to the 18th century warnings of Thomas Malthus
Food crisis
and his modern followers, study after study shows that
Capitalism, Agribusiness and the Food Sovereignty Alternative - May global food production has consistently outstripped
2008
population growth, and that there is more than enough
food to feed everyone. According to the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization, enough food is
Food Crisis - part 2 produced in the world to provide over 2800 calories a day
to everyone — substantially more than the minimum
required for good health, and about 18% more calories
Capitalism, Agribusiness per person than in the 1960s, despite a significant
increase in total population. [1]
and the Food Sovereignty As the Food First Institute points out, “abundance, not
Alternative scarcity, best describes the supply of food in the world
today.” [2]
Ian Angus
Despite that, the most commonly proposed solution to
world hunger is new technology to increase food
production.
“Nowhere in the world, in no act of genocide, in no
war, are so many people killed per minute, per hour The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, funded by
and per day as those who are killed by hunger and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the
poverty on our planet.” —Fidel Castro, 1998 Rockefeller Foundation, aims to develop “more
productive and resilient varieties of Africa’s major food
When food riots broke out in Haiti last month, the first
crops … to enable Africa’s small-scale farmers to
country to respond was Venezuela. Within days,
produce larger, more diverse and reliable harvests.” [3]
planes were on their way from Caracas, carrying 364
tons of badly needed food. Similarly, the Manila-based International Rice Research
Institute has initiated a public-private partnership “to
The people of Haiti are “suffering from the attacks of
increase rice production across Asia via the accelerated
the empire’s global capitalism,” Venezuelan
development and introduction of hybrid rice
president Hugo Chàvez said. “This calls for genuine
technologies.” [4]
and profound solidarity from all of us. It is the least
we can do for Haiti.” And the president of the World Bank promises to help
developing countries gain “access to technology and
science to boost yields.” [5]

13/31


Scientific research is vitally important to the development their profits, while simultaneously making global hunger
of agriculture, but initiatives that assume in advance that worse and food crises inevitable.
new seeds and chemicals are needed are neither
The assault on traditional farming
credible nor truly scientific. The fact that there is already
enough food to feed the world shows that the food crisis Today’s food crisis doesn’t stand alone: it is a
is not a technical problem — it is a social and political manifestation of a farm crisis that has been building for
problem. decades.
Rather than asking how to increase production, our first As we saw in Part One of this article, over the past three
question should be why, when so much food is available, decades the rich countries of the north have forced poor
are over 850 million people hungry and malnourished? countries to open their markets, then flooded those
Why do 18,000 children die of hunger every day? markets with subsidized food, with devastating results for
Third World farming.
Why can’t the global food industry feed the hungry?
But the restructuring of global agriculture to the
The profit system
advantage of agribusiness giants didn’t stop there. In the
The answer can be stated in one sentence. The global same period, southern countries were convinced, cajoled
food industry is not organized to feed the hungry; it is and bullied into adopting agricultural policies that promote
organized to generate profits for corporate agribusiness. export crops rather than food for domestic consumption,
and favour large-scale industrial agriculture that requires
The agribusiness giants are achieving that objective very
single-crop (monoculture) production, heavy use of water,
well indeed. This year, agribusiness profits are soaring
and massive quantities of fertilizer and pesticides.
above last year’s levels, while hungry people from Haiti to
Increasingly, traditional farming, organized by and for
Egypt to Senegal were taking to the streets to protest
communities and families, has been pushed aside by
rising food prices. These figures are for just three months
industrial farming organized by and for agribusinesses.
at the beginning of 2008. [6]
That transformation is the principal obstacle to a
Grain Trading: Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). Gross
rational agriculture that could eliminate hunger.
profit: $1.15 billion, up 55% from last year Cargill: Net
earnings: $1.03 billion, up 86% Bunge. Consolidated The focus on export agriculture has produced the absurd
gross profit: $867 million, up 189%. and tragic result that millions of people are starving in
countries that export food. In India, for example, over
Seeds & herbicides: Monsanto. Gross profit: $2.23
one-fifth of the population is chronically hungry and 48%
billion, up 54%. Dupont Agriculture and Nutrition. Pre-tax
of children under five years old are malnourished.
operating income: $786 million, up 21%
Nevertheless, India exported US$1.5 billion worth of
Fertilizer Potash Corporation. Net income: $66 million, milled rice and $322 million worth of wheat in 2004. [9]
up 185.9% Mosaic. Net earnings: $520.8 million, up more
In other countries, farmland that used to grow food for
than 1,200%
domestic consumption now grows luxuries for the north.
The companies listed above, plus a few more, are the Colombia, where 13% of the population is malnourished,
monopoly or near-monopoly buyers and sellers of produces and exports 62% of all cut flowers sold in the
agricultural products around the world. Six companies United States.
control 85% of the world trade in grain; three control 83%
In many cases the result of switching to export crops has
of cocoa; three control 80% of the banana trade. [7] ADM,
produced results that would be laughable if they weren’t
Cargill and Bunge effectively control the world’s corn,
so damaging. Kenya was self-sufficient in food until about
which means that they alone decide how much of each
25 years ago. Today it imports 80% of its food — and
year’s crop goes to make ethanol, sweeteners, animal
80% of its exports are other agricultural products. [10]
feed or human food.
The shift to industrial agriculture has driven millions of
As the editors of Hungry for Profit write, “The enormous
people off the land and into unemployment and poverty in
power exerted by the largest agribusiness/food
the immense slums that now surround many of the
corporations allows them essentially to control the cost of
world’s cities.
their raw materials purchased from farmers while at the
same time keeping prices of food to the general public at The people who best know the land are being separated
high enough levels to ensure large profits.” [8] from it; their farms enclosed into gigantic outdoor
factories that produce only for export. Hundreds of
Over the past three decades, transnational agribusiness
millions of people now must depend on food that’s grown
companies have engineered a massive restructuring of
thousands of miles away because their homeland
global agriculture. Directly through their own market
agriculture has been transformed to meet the needs of
power and indirectly through governments and the World
agribusiness corporations. As recent months have
Bank, IMF and World Trade Organization, they have
shown, the entire system is fragile: India’s decision to
changed the way food is grown and distributed around
rebuild its rice stocks made food unaffordable for millions
the world. The changes have had wonderful effects on
half a world away.

14/31

International Viewpoint IV400 May 2008

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